


Head Over Heels For You

by redluna



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Just a bit of pure fluffy ridiculousness, M/M, Or where Cullen's flirting skills are on par with Aveline's
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-14
Updated: 2015-05-14
Packaged: 2018-03-30 12:10:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3936238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redluna/pseuds/redluna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cullen refuses to accept that he's been mooning over Dorian for the better half a month, so his friends decide it's time to give him a "push" in the right direction.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Head Over Heels For You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [esstiel (estherrrmarieee)](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=esstiel+%28estherrrmarieee%29).



> Because two of my favorite people in the fandom thought it would be a good idea.
> 
> http://esstiel.tumblr.com/post/118838563725/aus-cullen-would-like-to-state-for-the-record

Cullen Rutherford was  _not_  pining. You were bound to take notice of people out in public and a place such as a coffee shop all but turned it into an actual sport ("people watching" Josephine had once contributed helpfully, if around giggles). And if his gaze lingered overly long on a single person than he could hardly be blamed when the person was as striking as Dorian (there was no such thing as anonymity in a place where your name would be shouted clear across the shop on a regular basis). The man managed to look consistently as though he had just strutted in from some catwalk or another, even when it came to something as simple as tight jeans ~~\--~~ _Maker_ and a dark, baggy sweater, Ray-Ban's perched atop his head.

"Maker's breath...  _Sera_!"

Sera pinched the tender flesh of his armbare now that the weather had turned warm againruthlessly. "Two for all that Maker rot." She smacked the already reddening spot with her hand. "Ain't you ever gonna talk to him? All this mooning is making me sick." The way she chopped down on another cookie from the considerable stack in front of her, however, seemed to contradict this.

"I'm not  _mooning_." Cullen shot a dark look over at Iron Bull when he heard a snort coming from the other side of him. "Honestly, what will it take for you to give this a rest already?" _  
_

"Oh, somethin' nice and simple." Bull hooked his thumb over in the general direction of the counter. "Go chat up that pretty boy of a 'vint. Or, better yet, just hit him with one of your woe-begotten puppy looks while you've got that nice blush working over your cheeks. Yeah, then he'd"

Neither Cullen nor Sera needed to so much as look to aim a fist at his chest.

"Keep your fantasies to yourself." Sera screwed up her face, tongue sticking out. "Or sell 'em to the damn dwarf."

"I think Hawke still has a monopoly on that," Cullen said.

"Dunno." Bull's smile was slow and sly. "Something tells me that you and that 'vint of yours could work up to a whole serial."

"Oh, for..." Cullen threw up his hands, rising from his chair. "We're taking this outside."

"Why?" Sera's eyebrows were already waggling, Maker help him. "Worried that lover boy will hear?"

"He's not my"

Whatever else Cullen planned on saying was lost when Bull's leg shot out, interrupting his next step and sending him crashing back down onto his ass.

"Maker's breath, Bull!" He swatted Sera's pinch seeking fingers away. "What was that for?"

Bull hoisted his shoulders up into a shrug, as though it were Cullen's shouting that was outside the norm, not his actions. "Nothing, turns out," he said.

"What?" Sera demanded, slamming her hands down on the table as she shoved up from her seat. "You mean he didn't even notice?"

"Please, tell me that you didn't..." Cullen pressed a fist to his forehead. "Of course, you did." He pushed himself up from the floor none too elegantly, snatching up his coffee container before turning in the direction of the door. He didn't need to look behind him before marching off to know that Sera and Bull were following after him; the scraping noises and flurry of rustling informed him of that well enough.

He waited until he had pushed the door open, holding it open long enough for his friends to have passed through toojust because they didn't observe manners didn't mean he should tooto lecture them properly. There would be no point over doing it inside where they would just use it as an excuse to try working him up enough to draw attention. They had already created quite enough of a scene, honestly.

"It's not like your plan even has any merit," he grumbled. "I mean, what am I supposed to say to someone like him? His shoes alone cost more than a month worth's of my paycheck. And he sits around reading Brother Genitivi whenever he's in. He's not going to be interested in me rambling on about work when it's less like an episode of Cops and more dealing with drunks throwing up everywhere. No one wants to hear about any of..."

A muttered, "For fuck's sake!" and two small hands landing on his back were all the warning that Cullen received before he was toppling back over in an unceremonious sprawl onto the sidewalk, coffee going Maker only knew where.

There was no way to pretend it didn't hurt, not when landing straight on his stomach had knocked the wind clear out of him, but it all got far worse when he realized that his overturned coffee had managed to pool around a pair of shoes that he had been rambling on about not too long ago.

The rich peals of laughter were certainly unexpected, though.

"I'm sorry," Dorian said, clearly mistaking his blank stare for something other than bewilderment. "Really, I am, just..." He clutched at his sides, trying desperately to reclaim his breath enough to get more than a handful of words out at a time. "I didn't think I'd be managing a smile for the rest of the day, but you were apparently very determined to prove me wrong."

Cullen scrambled to his feet, doing his best to ignore the way his body ached in protest against moving so fast. "Are you alright?" He could blame it on his training, but he had joined the force in the first place so that he could  _help_ people and if Dorian was really in trouble...

"Oh, I..." Dorian blinked rapidly, seeming taken aback that anyone would actually be so determined to make sure of such a thing, which only made the whole thing worse. "I suppose not. Just another talk with my father about what a crippling disappointment I am. So...the usual."

Cullen's brow furrowed. "That isn't impossible." His mouth slackened when Dorian's eyebrows rose, heat shooting across his face all at once. "Uh... I mean, that you're not a disappointment. After all, you're pretty...nice? Or at least you seem so and..." He slapped a hand to his face, groaning. "Maker, I'm doing this all wrong."

"Yes, you are." Dorian was chuckling again, a sound that managed to be as lovely as the man himself. "But you're adorable at it." He tossed an arm around Cullen's shoulders, navigating him back towards the door to the coffee shop. "We'll head back inside so I can get you another of whatever wound up at my feet and you can fine tune whatever you meant to say while I indulge in my sweet tooth. Sound like a plan?"

To be fair, Cullen's answering smile was already doing quite a good job of making his case for him, but Dorian couldn't let that on. Just like he had to wait until Cullen had ducked inside to hold the door before sliding Bull and Sera their share of the profits. A good plan required the proper cohorts, after all, and this one had been a long time in the making.

So, technically speaking, Dorian was already won, but he did so enjoy playing hard to get. And, besides, if it got him more time under Cullen's warm gaze and even warmer touches he thought he might find an excuse to stay right there for the whole rest of the day.

 

 


End file.
